I noticed some strange bubbles (different sizes, some unsual big ones) on the head of my witbier. I first noticed the bubbles in the kettle before boil. Now it is almost ready to bottle, and when I pulled a sample for a gravity test, I saw those bubbles again sitting on top... Unfortunately, it really looks like dishwashing soap bubbles...

The thing is: I don't use any soap to clean my equipment, so I can't figure out how some soap made its way to my beer! The only thing I see is a transparent lid that is also used for cooking and fits my converted kegs perfectly. It had been washed with other dishes and rinsed with hot water as usual, and even sanitized before brewing. Do you think the microscopic residues (if there still was some) could be responsible? If not, any other ideas?

I guess this one's is gonna have a funky head! Sadly, I guess soap will ruin the head retention, so my only option will be drinking it eyes shut.

Anyway, I'm so disapointed cause we put so much effort and time in every batch in the quest for the perfect beer, and when something goes wrong, it feels like starting over every time.

Good to hear that your brew is ok. Me I have a bigger problem, wild yeast or a bug in my batch fermenting. I think my starter got contaminated. Too many people messing with my stuff you know. I'm taking a FG reading tonight. I hope its just a slow fermentation due to too cool temp.

I opened a bottle yesterday and the beer tastes good! But as I thought, there is still something weird that made its way to the beer... Before opening the bottle, I examined the liquid in front of a light source, and I could see a tiny oily film on top of the beer. Something like oil or soap, I don't know... The good thing is that I can't taste it in the beer, but I'm pretty confused about that. One thing I forgot to mention: it had kind of multicolor reflections when I first noticed it in the brew kettle, just like oil does on the street on a sunny day.

- Could it be from the 2 pounds of rice hulls that was unrinsed before using?
- Is it possible for the oil in a small homebrew March pump to get in contact with the liquid? (No oil got near the inlets, but it always spills a little into the casing)
- Is it dishwasher soap as I was worried about?

How could I determine the exact nature of the oily film without sending a sample to a lab? Any chemist here ?

I'm not sure how well this will work with beer, but you can give it a try.

Soap separates from water pretty easily with the help of ionic compounds. Try adding some table salt to your beer and see if the oily stuff separates from the beer. If so, then you've got soap in your beer.

I opened a bottle yesterday and the beer tastes good! But as I thought, there is still something weird that made its way to the beer... Before opening the bottle, I examined the liquid in front of a light source, and I could see a tiny oily film on top of the beer.

I don't know about oil or soap, but this kind of clear to whitish film floating on top of the beer is a common sign of a wild yeast or bacterial contamination.

The beer could, potentially, get very sour, become foul tasting, or overcarbonate. The one time I had a similar infection which started in the secondary and continued into the bottles, however, the beer became just very slightly tart. I held a few bottles for close to 2 years and it was still good after all that time. Perhaps better than it had been.

Well, I must say I'm pretty happy with the final result! It turned out very good, all my friends ask for more of that tasty wit!! It has good head retention all the way down. One morning, I found an unfinished glass that was left there all night long, and it still had a quarter-inch white head on top!! I guess I once again worried too much for nothing... I'm gonna do what people say on that forum: relax and have a homebrew!